House Approves Bill to Protect Pro-Life Hospital Policies

September 27, 2002—Washington, DC: The House of Representatives voted 229-189 in favor of the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act (HR 4691), a bill to protect the rights of hospitals to decide against performing abortions, even if receives public funds.

Sponsored by pro-life Congressman Michael Bilirakis (R-FL), the bill was introduced to provide clarity to an existing pro-life law, passed in 1996, to protect all health care facilities from being required to perform abortion. The law has been interpreted by some courts as only covering medical residents in training. The bill states the conscience protections apply to all those involved in providing health care, including health plans, hospitals, and individual health professionals.

"The original law was intended to apply to the broadest definition of health care entities," Bilirakis explained. "These conscience protections say that hospitals should not be forced to perform abortions."

Abortion advocates claimed the bill would impose certain religious views on others and the Senate, controlled by pro-abortion Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD), would not consider it.

"Everyone knows that the Senate will not touch it," pro-abortion Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) said. Bill proponents are "trying to hide behind the Vatican," she claimed.

Pro-life Congressman Dave Weldon (R-FL) said abortion advocates were staging a campaign to force hospitals to do abortions. Currently, 86 percent of American hospitals do not allow abortions to be performed.

"The people who want to advance the agenda have gotten courts to interpret that hospitals are not health care entities," Weldon, also a doctor, explained.

He described a campaign by the NARAL's Maryland affiliate to require hospitals in the state to perform abortion. He also pointed out pro-abortion efforts to sue a Catholic hospital in New Jersey and to lobby courts in Alaska to require a private nonsectarian hospital to perform abortions. "They found a loophole in federal law and want to drive a truck through it," Weldon concluded.

In other cases, a hospital merger in New Hampshire was halted after abortion activists intervened with the state attorney general. In Connecticut a certificate of need was denied to a proposed outpatient surgical center that would have declined to perform abortions, after abortion activists intervened in the proceedings.

President Bush indicated he supports the aims of the pro-life legislation.

"Hospitals and health care professionals should not be forced to perform or participate in abortions,'' the Bush administration said in a statement Wednesday. "This legislation makes clear that they may not be subjected to discrimination by the federal government, or by any state or local government... because they oppose or choose not to participate in abortions or abortion training.''

Abortion advocates also claimed the bill would allow hospitals to deny lifesaving medical care.

At one point in the debate, Slaughter asked pro-life Congressman Chris Smith whether a woman who had a botched abortion would receive appropriate medical care at a hospital afterwards. Slaughter did not realize the implications of her statement, namely that women do suffer from botched abortions and must seek emergency medical treatment. Smith assured her all hospitals would provide medical care to women who had a botched abortion and would attempt to save the life of the unborn child, if possible.

"Members of Congress, regardless of their personal views on abortion, ought to agree with public law that health care providers should not be forced to perform or fund abortions that they believe are morally wrong," Family Research Council President Ken Connor said.

"To do so would force these vital members of our society to choose between keeping their jobs and following their conscience. It's time the purveyors of 'choice' practice what they preach and allow others the choice not to violate their conscience."

Members who spoke in favor of the pro-life legislation included: Sue Myrick (R-NC), Robin Hayes (R-NC), Melissa Hart (R-PA), Todd Akin (R-MO), Dave Weldon (R-FL), Mark Souder (R-IN), JoAnn Davis (R-VA), Chris Smith (R-NJ), Mike Pence (R-IN), Joe Pitts (R-PA), David Vitter (R-LA).

Members who spoke against the pro-life legislation included: Louise Slaughter (D-NY), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Jim McDermott (D-WA), Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), Jan Shanakowsky (D-IL), Nancy Johnson (R-CT), Diana Degette (D-CO), Henry Waxman (D-CA), Lois Capps (D-CA), Holmes Norton (D-DC), Juanita Millender McDonald (D-CA), Jarrold Nadler (D-NY) and Connie Morella (R-MD).

The House cast three separate votes on the issue. Members of Congress voted 229-194 for the rules of debate which prevented pro-abortion amendments that would have weakened the bill (see http://clerkweb.house.gov/cgi-bin/vote.exe?year=2002&rollnumber=410).

Members then voted 230-191 against a pro-abortion motion to send the bill back to committee to weaken it (see http://clerkweb.house.gov/cgi-bin/vote.exe?year=2002&rollnumber=411).

Finally, members voted for the bill 229-189 (see http://clerkweb.house.gov/cgi-bin/vote.exe?year=2002&rollnumber=412).

Please contact your Congressman and express your views about the votes on this issue.